MP push for reform of Digital Economy Act

A number of MP’s have signed a motion calling for the Government to re-examine sections of the Digital Economy Act that allow the disconnection of a users internet without judicial process.

The motion, led by the Liberal Democrat MP for Cambridge Julian Huppert, asks the Government to take account of a recent UN report that said it was “alarmed by proposals to disconnect users from Internet access if they violate intellectual property rights.”

In its current form, the Digital Economy Act allows Ofcom to disconnect or slow down the internet connections of users suspected of file-sharing. Operating under a ‘three-strikes’ policy, the provisions have been criticized as they can be implemented without judicial process, and in violation of what is now considered to be a human right.